Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- In this report Mintel asks…
- Market definition
- Target group definitions
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
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- An aggregator of aggregators?
- From price comparison to product comparison
- Build trust
- Trade body needed?
- Branching out
Market in Brief
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- Aggregator market penetration
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- Figure 1: Proportion of UK adults and internet users who have used a price comparison site, September 2008
- Growing share and influence
- Most popular finance products compared and bought online
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- Figure 2: Top five financial products bought online and top five searched for/bought via a price comparison site, September 2008
- Leading aggregator brands
- Recent performance and short-term outlook
- New competition prompts increase in advertising
- What consumers think about aggregators
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: No Middleman
- Definition
- The internet has fuelled a trend towards ‘disintermediation’
- This is most evident in the general insurance sector
- The effect on price
- Wider implications
- Trend 2: Horizontal Communities
- Definition
- Changing definition of ‘community’
- The blogging phenomenon
- New ways of segmenting markets
- Aggregators create their own horizontal communities
Emergence and Impact
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- Key points
- The rise of the aggregator
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- Figure 3: Timeline of entry for selected price comparison sites, 1997-2008
- Newer entrants build on the original model…
- …but proving a success takes money and effective PR
- Revenue streams and business models
- Strong consumer appeal
- Adopting the ‘consumer champion’ role
- People are more likely to heed the advice of friends and family than financial experts
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- Figure 4: Financial advice/information sources most likely to use or heed, September 2008
- Insight and opportunity
- Age and influence
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- Figure 5: Financial advice/information sources most likely to use or heed, by age, September 2008
- Aggregators have dramatically altered the insurance landscape
- If you can’t beat them, join them
- Confusion over coverage
- Price is king
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- Figure 6: What people most look for in a home or motor insurance policy, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Price comparison sites are the preferred destination for online quotes
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- Figure 7: Websites most likely to visit for an insurance quote, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Aggregators are most likely to win business from those aged 25-34
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- Figure 8: Websites most likely to visit for an insurance quote, by age, September 2008
- A matter of regulation
- FSA review
Online Trends and Lifestyle Factors
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- Key points
- Growth of internet usage
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- Figure 9: Internet penetration – GB, 2002-08
- Implication and opportunity
- Demand drivers – a matter of convenience
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- Figure 10: Demand drivers helping to facilitate online buying, 2008
- A quarter of adults say buying online makes their life easier
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- Figure 11: Agreement with statements about researching and buying on the internet, 2004-08
- Implication and opportunity
Trading Environment
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- Key points
- Economic overview
- Economic downturn: The impact on aggregators
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- Figure 12: Recession implications for online aggregators, 2008
- Income and spending growth slows, while the savings ratio collapses
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- Figure 13: Total PDI, consumer expenditure and savings ratio, 2003-12
- Implication and opportunity
- Mortgages – reduced liquidity and slump in demand hits sales
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- Figure 14: Gross secured lending, by type of loan, 2003-09
- Consumer credit market not so badly affected
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- Figure 15: Gross consumer credit lending, 2003-09
- General insurance – pricing pressures limit premium growth in the home and motor sectors
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- Figure 16: Value of the domestic motor, home and travel insurance markets, by GWP, 2003-08
- Implication and opportunity
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Figure 17: Web aggregators – summary of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, 2008
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Trade Perspective – Insurers and Intermediaries
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- About the respondents
- Aggregators – the good and the bad
- Is current regulation sufficient?
- Market evolution
Trade Perspective – Aggregators
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- About the respondents
- Bringing benefits both to consumers and financial providers
- Responding to critics
- Working closely with the regulator
- The crunch effect – visitor numbers up
- Outlook for 2009
The Size of the Target Market
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- Key points
- The online revolution
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- Figure 18: Proportion of uk adults who use the internet, have bought a finance product online and have used a financial aggregator, September 2008
- The main target groups identified
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- Figure 19: Target groups identified for online and aggregator market, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Further segmental analysis
- Aggregators will continue to grow market penetration
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- Figure 20: Forecast of population sizes – Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, 2008-13
- Calculating the forecast and assumptions made
Aggregator Rankings & Key Performance Indicators
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- Key points
- Moneysupermarket and Confused have the largest share of users
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- Figure 21: Usage share of financial aggregator sites, by top five aggregators, 2008
- Strong revenue growth
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- Figure 22: Key performance indicators for top five financial aggregators, 2007
- Others to watch out for
Advertising and Promotion
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- Key points
- Top aggregators spend millions on consumer advertising…
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- Figure 23: Advertising expenditure, by selected aggregators, 2006/07-07/08
- Implication and opportunity
- …and most of it goes on TV commercials
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- Figure 24: Advertising expenditure split by media type, by selected aggregators, 2007/08
- Aggregators focus much their advertising on motor insurance
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- Figure 25: Breakdown of adspend by NMR product category – top six aggregators only, 2007/08
- Implication and opportunity
Brand Elements
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- Brand map
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- Figure 26: Attitudes towards and usage of web aggregator brands, October 2008
- moneysupermarket.com
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 27: Attitudes towards the moneysupermarket.com brand, October 2008
- Confused.com
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 28: Attitudes towards the Confused.com brand, October 2008
- Comparethemarket.com
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 29: Attitudes towards the comparethemarket.com brand, October 2008
- Tesco Compare
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 30: Attitudes towards the Tesco Compare brand, October 2008
- Brand qualities
- Aggregator brands are accessible and helpful
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- Figure 31: Personalities of the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Experience of aggregator brands
- Moneysupermarket.com is the leading aggregator brand
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- Figure 32: Consumer usage of the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Brand intentions
- Moneysupermarket also has the most loyal customer base
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- Figure 33: Consideration of the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Brand momentum
- The market leader is perceived as having the most drive
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- Figure 34: Momentum of the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Brand motivation
- Confused leads on insurance, moneysupermarket on credit, mortgages and savings
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- Figure 35: Motivation for choosing the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Brand satisfaction
- Moneysupermarket again comes out top
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- Figure 36: Satisfaction with the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Brand commitment
- Users show little loyalty to specific aggregator brands
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- Figure 37: Commitment to the four aggregator brands, October 2008
- Round up
The Consumer – Online Purchasing
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- Key points
- About Mintel’s consumer survey
- Motor insurance is the best online seller
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- Figure 38: Ownership of insurance and other personal financial products and proportion who bought online, September 2008
- Implications and opportunities
- 25-44-year-olds represent the core target market for online sales
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- Figure 39: Proportion of adults who bought financial products online within the past two years, by gender, age, socio-economic group and region, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Broadsheets present great offline ad potential
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- Figure 40: Proportion of adults who bought financial products online within the past two years, by newspaper readership, new technology and internet usage, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
The Consumer – Usage of Aggregator Websites
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- Key points
- Moneysupermarket and Confused are the most popular aggregators
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- Figure 41: Web aggregator sites used, segmented by Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Strong correlation between Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters
- Two fifths of Aggregator Adopters have only used one comparison site
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- Figure 42: Number of financial aggregator sites used, September 2008
- Confused.com is top destination for aggregator virgins
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- Figure 43: Specific aggregator sites used, by total number used, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Which rivals pose the most threat?
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- Figure 44: Cross-analysis of specific aggregator sites used, September 2008
- Different aggregators deliver a slightly different audience
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- Figure 45: User profile for the top six aggregators, by gender, age, socio-economic group and region, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Reaching the target market through the press
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- Figure 46: User profile for the top six aggregators, by newspaper readership, new technology and internet usage, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Motor insurance is the most searched-for product on aggregator sites
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- Figure 47: Financial products compared or bought through price comparison sites, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- 55-64-year-olds are key targets for home and travel insurance sales generated via aggregators
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- Figure 48: Financial products compared or bought through price comparison sites, by age, September 2008
- Men are more avid users of aggregators than women
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- Figure 49: Financial products compared or bought through price comparison sites, by gender and socio-economic group, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Confused.com claims the number-one spot for motor insurance
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- Figure 50: Price comparison sites used, by products searched for or bought, September 2008
- Different aggregators have different product strengths
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- Figure 51: Financial products compared or bought through price comparison sites, by top six aggregators, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
The Consumer – Buying Behaviour and Preferences
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- Key points
- The omnipresent power of search engines
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- Figure 52: Agreement with statements about searching and buying financial products online, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- The longer people log on, the keener they are on aggregators
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- Figure 53: Agreement with statements about searching and buying financial products online, by internet usage and location, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- 35-44-year-olds are most inclined to go to their preferred price comparison site
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- Figure 54: Agreement with statements about searching and buying financial products online, by age, September 2008
- Men are less tolerant of pop-ups than women
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- Figure 55: Agreement with statements about searching and buying financial products online, by gender and socio-economic group, September 2008
The Consumer – Attitudes Towards Aggregators
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- Key points
- A third of UK adults say aggregators are good for shopping around
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- Figure 56: Agreement with statements about aggregators, September 2008
- Work-based internet users are keen on saving time
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- Figure 57: Agreement with statements about aggregators, by internet usage and location, September 2008
- Target 45-54-year-olds with best-buy tables
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- Figure 58: Agreement with statements about aggregators, by age, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Half of all ABs give the thumbs-up to web aggregators, but a fifth have security fears
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- Figure 59: Agreement with statements about aggregators, by gender and socio-economic group, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Users of comparethemarket.com are most pro aggregators
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- Figure 60: Agreement with statements about aggregators, by top six aggregators used, September 2008
- Implication and opportunity
- Further analysis
Appendix 1 – Internet & Aggregator Penetration
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- Figure 61: Proportion of uk adults who are Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, working status and gross annual household income, September 2008
- Figure 62: Proportion of UK adults who are Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, by household tenure, region, ACORN category, newspaper readership, new technology and internet usage, September 2008
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Appendix 2 – Profile of Online Buyers & Aggregator Adopters
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- Figure 63: Profile of the total sample, Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, working status and gross annual household income, September 2008
- Figure 64: Profile of the total sample, Internet Users, Online Buyers and Aggregator Adopters, by household tenure, region, ACORN category, newspaper readership, new technology and internet usage, September 2008
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